Let's go back to the original discussion.
Right now the state of ETSU athletics are in demise, but as of now nothing is being changed.
I keep hearing that we need to be patient and that change will be made. And I understand Brian Noland will want to get the lay of the land.
But I also heard David Mullins would retire this summer. And instead, he oversaw the athletics part of the 125 Committee.
The thing is that Mullins could have been fired for cause due to just the events of Noland's tenure (athlete conduct, another venue built behind schedule, losing teams, and whatever else that I can't think of off the top of my head), and he has not.
Why?
Here's what I can come up with-
A- With the increase of athletic budgets at ETSU, one can only assume that Mullins has been more successful in raising money. It may have gone to things like soccer and softball, but regardless.
The thing about those Hawaii trips is that while they cater to a few wealthy donors but seperate the basketball team from the common fan. When ETSU beat Georgia a few years ago out there it had no reasonance with the locals because the game ended at 3 a.m. And I'm not sure the checks written by wealthy donors who would go to Hawaii surpass being an athletic program in tune with the common fan.
But that's the big key. ETSU can drop in conference, embarass themselves when building facilities, see attendance decrease, and lose a lot of games. But if Mullins can get his cult of cronies to fund a soccer program, it is the creedence Stanton needed when he said Mullins was the best AD he'd ever had.
The problem is that money goes to fund losing softball teams and not into sports that would actually get ETSU attention. Of course, to a college president and some athletic administrators that's perfectly okay. But if the goal is to get ETSU sports on the map, it isn't.
B- Mullins is a long time employee at ETSU and as such has to have a level of popularity. When he was hired, there were plenty of posters who came on and said "he's a cool guy" and criticized me for saying he was the sort of guy you hired when you wanted to drop football.
But wouldn't it stand to reason he has built some internal loyalty if that was the initial reaction to his hire? Consider he has only fired, what, one coach in 10 years at the helm?
For the past 10 years ETSU has been able to do whatever they want and the only reprisal they've faced is this board, which is led by a moderator who himself is less than interested in leading a change and is more interested in getting a meaningless leak or two about a high school basketball player.
Skole can put out losing team after losing team, Bartow can bring in thugs and play zone for 40 minutes while opponents score from outside at will; nothing.
Bow-tie Wearing Businessman may not want to upset that apple cart. And if so; forget the SoCon, forget any real hope for advancement, and I look forward to ETSU playing in their new arena with no scoreboard or concession stands to start out with.
Remember Slappy White mysteriously coming on here and telling us that Noland was already working on making all our dreams come true? Admittedly we have to believe a guy who doesn't know how to use capital letters is this great insider to the athletic department, but, hey, this is east Tennessee.
He hasn't been on here lately to preach the ETSU company line, has he?
C- Something everyone has forgotten. Noland is a college president, not an athletic director.
What I mean is that Noland has other priorities. Basically, what a college president does is let the AD run the program and just give final approval. And so far that's basically what's happened.
D- Noland wants to change conferences; therefore he will keep on the old hand AD to oversee this transition.
If this theory is true (and I'm not saying it is, but it does have a bit of merit), Noland needs to be fired today for being clueless. Mullins has burned bridges with the SoCon and OVC, he has built the athletic program for success in the A-Sun, and he's the one you want to get ETSU into the CAA?
E- We need to be patient, it's only early.
Which I can believe. And I still am somewhat optimistic in that while I've heard Noland praise Bartow glowingly, he has yet to give the same praise to Mullins to my knowledge.
So let's say Noland is just getting the lay of the land. Let's just say that Mullins overseeing the 125 Committee is a formality. Let's say Noland does have the stones to make changes.
When do we start to hold him accountable?
Because the time to start making changes is now. There are too many moves being made with conferences to pass them by, and the best way to make a dramatic rise is to come up with a concrete plan for a new arena and not have the AD who consistently oversees facilities being built behind schedule oversee it.
I'm kind of hopeful that Mullins' extended stay in Hawaii was sort of a trip to maybe scout out a retirement home or something, but you have to admit that idea has a lot of wishful thinking elements in it.
So if Noland is the mover and shaker for athletics he has been made out to be, we have to think that the young, bright innovator wouldn't want a tired old hand who is responsible for the current lot of things running the athletic department.
I can wait through the summer. But after that, I have to think a lot of opportunities will have passed and the same old same old will still be alive and well.
I don't want to hear about retirement packages or whatever. The department, the university, and the community demand priority ahead of the retirement package of a single, small minded, counterproductive, unethical individual currently making a six-figure annual income.
If Mullins doesn't have a good nest egg by now, then he obviously lacked the skills to be a good AD in the first place and the error must be changed.
By the way, MotherDucker, go ahead and write your stupid posts on here as a follow up.
I'm sure your agenda of backing up the athletic department's company line by trying in vain to patronize the only true journalist and one of only two posters with enough guts to put his name behind what he writes will work real well right about now.
After all, they are right; I'm wrong. And that's proven by the overwhelming success the Buccaneers are enjoying right now.
OHHHH!!!! MULLLINS!!!!! OOOOOHHHHH!!!! BRIDGES BURNT!!!OOOOOHHH!!!!PRESIDENT NOLAND!!!!!HAWAIIAN SENIORS IN GRASS SKIRTS!!!!!!OOOOOOOHHHHH!!!!anticlimactic orgasm....!
I think Noland is waiting until the summer to affect any personnel changes. Bartow should at least be given the rest of the year to let the train crash or to pull the brakes - whatever happens - and allowing Mullins to retire prevents a young president from creating enemies. If Mullins recants, then fire him. The final key is finding a better AD to enact the firing and replacement of Bartow.
there is no point in firing Bartow until we get a new AD. Firing and rehiring a coach before an AD change is a terrible situation and would make the job less attractive for potential candidates. Don't get me wrong, I've said every since I got there as a student six years ago that he was a decent high school coach at best, that his players were way out of control and that he recruited a lot of bad people, but for us to reach the heights we NEED to, as we are falling behind every other school in the state, we need the right situation to get us a better hire.
(12-31-2012 05:11 PM)shampoo Wrote: [ -> ]OHHHH!!!! MULLLINS!!!!! OOOOOHHHHH!!!! BRIDGES BURNT!!!OOOOOHHH!!!!PRESIDENT NOLAND!!!!!HAWAIIAN SENIORS IN GRASS SKIRTS!!!!!!OOOOOOOHHHHH!!!!anticlimactic orgasm....!
I think Noland is waiting until the summer to affect any personnel changes. Bartow should at least be given the rest of the year to let the train crash or to pull the brakes - whatever happens - and allowing Mullins to retire prevents a young president from creating enemies. If Mullins recants, then fire him. The final key is finding a better AD to enact the firing and replacement of Bartow.
Good impersonation. It's amazing how there's one set of rules for me and another for everyone else on here.
I agree with what you're saying.
But I will also say this. There is enough that has happened this year under Noland, let alone the previous nine years (NINE YEARS THIS HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO GO ON! NINE!), to fire Mullins for cause.
If Mullins is this beast that our supposed woman on the inside reports, then I would imagine his termination would not create enemies but rather be rejoiced upon. Of course, that's taking our supposed woman on the inside at her word and assuming her emotions aren't getting in the way of her facts, which is a big if.
But here's the deal. Folks, ease off the Bartow heat.
If there's more heat on Bartow than his boss, I could actually see a path where Mullins is able to continue on and guide the program for a few more years while Bartow is made the scapegoat for everything wrong in the one program people actually care about (mildly) here.
I know I'm new on here (I follow but do not post much), but I know some people that have a lot of influence on decisions and from what they have told me, there is going to be significant changes that will include many of the administration and several coaches. Everyone is up for evaluation. Will firings come immediately, no, but it will happen within the next year or two. Donors, and friends of the university are tired of the stagnation of the athletic department. Stanton was brought in to grow the university academically, and Nolan is here to grow us athletically.
Reasons they cite include:numerous issues with lack of oversight financially of individual programs, lack of growth, multiple coaches being "not retained" or not having contracts renewed because of conduct issues by coaches and administration, and unrest and lack of growth in student interest. We simply do not have a product as a whole that is attractive to students or alumni/donors. I know I send my checks to BASA earmarked for a reason.
Also, I hear that there is a good chance the track program may have some significant changes coming due to the lack of Indoor Track and Field teams in the conference. There are only two teams in the conf with an indoor facility and several teams in the league do not have a real track team, just a cross country team that they enter for conf meets. This is causing the conf to reconsider having the sport (ITF) as part of its official lineup. I know this is not a huge deal for most posters, but with the history of track and field here, and the donors and friends that are involved with the university, it has some influence on where we end up conference wise. And we will be moving. Upstate, Lipscomb, and Northern Ky will all be out of the ASUCK in 3-5 years. It will be interesting to see if it even exists in 5 years.
(12-31-2012 08:59 PM)studentofthegame Wrote: [ -> ]Upstate, Lipscomb, and Northern Ky will all be out of the ASUCK in 3-5 years. It will be interesting to see if it even exists in 5 years.
1, please add etsu to that list
2, yep, the asun will still be around. i see it becoming stricly a florida-georgia conference picking up schools like west florida, st. leo, etc.
Student- I don't know if I'm buying what you're selling.
First of all, one doesn't hire a college president to solely improve athletics, nor has there been any indication that Brian Noland was hired for primarily improving the athletic program. Remember his first call to order wasn't athletics but rather a performing arts center and the like. The primary reason we think of Noland as an athletic savior is because we know he's a basketball fan, he's a younger man, and the fact most Buccaneers fans subscribe to the "Anybody but Stanton" mindset.
I'm not saying that Noland won't improve things, the three things listed above aren't necessarily things to dismiss.
But the validity of "Stanton for academics, Noland for athletics" reeks of wishful thinking.
The second thing is that I really don't think USC Upstate or Northern Kentucky are going to be in demand by other conferences.
Upstate plays in a tiny arena they just built. I don't believe they even broadcast a full schedule of their games on the radio. They are destined to be an afterthought not only behind the likes of Clemson, USC, and other ACC schools, but Furman and Wofford as well.
More than that, I'm told the administration and coaches are just fine with that.
Northern Kentucky is just a baby on the Division I scale. If memory serves they have nice facilities, but, really, what conference right now really just has to have Northern Kentucky?
Lipscomb is an interesting study. I'm not saying they wouldn't move, but I don't think it's definite at all. Lipscomb has always been a good baseball school and I'm thinking that fits in nicely with the A-Sun.
You know what bothers me, though, is the silence from the A-Sun office. I'd love to know what they are doing proactively to keep the conference alive.
(01-01-2013 01:34 PM)PittsburghBucs Wrote: [ -> ]Student- I don't know if I'm buying what you're selling.
First of all, one doesn't hire a college president to solely improve athletics, nor has there been any indication that Brian Noland was hired for primarily improving the athletic program. Remember his first call to order wasn't athletics but rather a performing arts center and the like. The primary reason we think of Noland as an athletic savior is because we know he's a basketball fan, he's a younger man, and the fact most Buccaneers fans subscribe to the "Anybody but Stanton" mindset.
I'm not saying that Noland won't improve things, the three things listed above aren't necessarily things to dismiss.
But the validity of "Stanton for academics, Noland for athletics" reeks of wishful thinking.
The second thing is that I really don't think USC Upstate or Northern Kentucky are going to be in demand by other conferences.
Upstate plays in a tiny arena they just built. I don't believe they even broadcast a full schedule of their games on the radio. They are destined to be an afterthought not only behind the likes of Clemson, USC, and other ACC schools, but Furman and Wofford as well.
More than that, I'm told the administration and coaches are just fine with that.
Northern Kentucky is just a baby on the Division I scale. If memory serves they have nice facilities, but, really, what conference right now really just has to have Northern Kentucky?
Lipscomb is an interesting study. I'm not saying they wouldn't move, but I don't think it's definite at all. Lipscomb has always been a good baseball school and I'm thinking that fits in nicely with the A-Sun.
You know what bothers me, though, is the silence from the A-Sun office. I'd love to know what they are doing proactively to keep the conference alive.
Let me clarify a little. I didn't mean that Noland was hired solely for atletics. He clearly has many more roles which hold greater importance. What I was saying is that his personal interest has more likelyhood for athletic gains and student involvement. I have talked to him several times, and he has told me the biggest problem that we have here is lack of student interest and involvement on campus. That is why there has been improvements on other campus activity programs. He wants to fix the suitcase campus that we have created here. He, with his interest in sports is going to have more interest in that as part of his growth. I, though younger, have issues with the athletic practices that went on under Stanton, but he did get some things done such as new dorms, the Professional schools, ect that were necessary to help the university grow. What real university doesn't require freshment to stay on campus? I think that is one of our most overlooked problems on campus. If you can keep the students on campus it will be a lot easier to get them to go to the games.
As for Northern Kentucky, it makes no sense for them to stay in a florida based conference when they are all the way up in northern kentucky when, after the successful integration period, they would have less travel and with the basketball facility, they could be attractive to a more geographically sensible conf such as the OVC or eventually (not 3-5years), the MAC.
Lipscomb needs to be with Belmont, and their other sports aren't bad.
USC Upstate may take longer than that, but I don't think they want to stay here. the area teams continue to move away in the ASUN which will be a FLA/GA conference before long and they will need to find somewhere to go.
My .02
Noland has a comprehensive goal to oversee ETSU's progression into a national level university. I can't quote verbatim, but one of his very first statements as president was to the effect of ETSU needing to become a nationally recognized school - much better than the self deprecating "becoming the best regional university" or whatever nonsense we'd paraded for too long. That old statement said everything: we were not even confident in our strength over schools like Tusculum, Milligan, or even Northeast State. Forget about national competition.
But the reality is that ETSU has a great number of qualified professionals, legitimate research opportunities for professors and students alike, a burgeoning student population - with all the benefits and issues for educational quality that result - and a surrounding community in need of a better identity, one that the university has every right and responsibility to provide. In that equation, athletics is a fundamental variable. I believe Noland sees this, and I believe that if we remain patient he will pay proper attention and enact due action. But he remains, nonetheless, a young president in need of our support and our wisdom, wherever it can be found. I do think he has been receptive to benevolent concern, and mindful of threatening dissent.
The problem with the A-Sun as a Fla/GA conference is that the schools in Florida and Georgia are improving or in markets that would likely make them attractive to other conferences and there aren't that many Florida and Georgia universities that want to make the leap to Division I.
For instance Rollins (suburban Orlando) has often been talked about as a college that could move to Division I and play in the A-Sun. They could likely compete in baseball very quickly.
One problem. Rollins has no interest in moving up to Division I.
There are just tremendous flaws in your arguements. Yes, it's a haul from Cincinnati to Fort Myers, but in today's college landscape where St. Louis is in the Atlantic 10 and San Diego State is in the Big East (at least for now) that's not that big of a deal.
Why does Lipscomb need to be with Belmont? Belmont didn't think so. Look, we have found out that Pitt doesn't have to be with Penn State, that Texas doesn't have to be with A & M, that Nebraska doesn't have to be with Oklahoma, The Citadel doesn't have to be with VMI, etc. Frankly, if Belmont continues their basketball growth in the OVC, and Lipscomb withers and dies, that's not such a bad thing for Belmont.
I would think there is a better chance of schools like Jacksonville and Gulf Coast leaving the A-Sun and certainly KSU. Fort Myers is one of the fastest growing markets in the country and there isn't another team other than Gulf Coast for the community to really call their own. Jacksonville has the Jaguars for now, but that's all they have other than the Dolphins.
KSU will be adding football and has the Atlanta market. It's also a rather large school, and that has an appeal.
I would even think Mercer might be a school a conference such as the CAA or Southern might look at. It's the kind of university that would seem to fit in there, and if Mercer can show the SoCon they are going to have a real football program they might be someone the SoCon wants.
The question is what kind of football program Mercer wants to have, and if Mercer feels loyalty to the A-Sun as the flagship of the conference, etc.
The thing is your arguement is simplistic. It says a Florida school in the A-Sun only wants to be as good as the other Fla/Ga schools currently in the conference can grow to.
And if that's all the conference will/can be, then it will die.
(01-01-2013 03:41 PM)shampoo Wrote: [ -> ]I do think he has been receptive to benevolent concern, and mindful of threatening dissent.
How so?
Not arguing, just probing.
How so?
The only thing I would like to add is that I do think there has been far too much emphasis on King Brian saving us all and just putting blind faith in him to part the Red Sea, you know?
(01-01-2013 02:23 PM)studentofthegame Wrote: [ -> ]As for Northern Kentucky, it makes no sense for them to stay in a florida based conference when they are all the way up in northern kentucky when, after the successful integration period, they would have less travel and with the basketball facility, they could be attractive to a more geographically sensible conf such as the OVC or eventually (not 3-5years), the MAC.
nku will eventually go to the summit
(01-01-2013 01:34 PM)PittsburghBucs Wrote: [ -> ]Upstate plays in a tiny arena they just built. I don't believe they even broadcast a full schedule of their games on the radio. They are destined to be an afterthought not only behind the likes of Clemson, USC, and other ACC schools, but Furman and Wofford as well.
if upstate ever gets fball, theyd be a good fit for the big south
(01-01-2013 02:23 PM)studentofthegame Wrote: [ -> ]Lipscomb needs to be with Belmont
pitts right. belmont doesnt think so. besides, if youre lipscomb that have been following in the footsteps and shadows of belmont for who knows how long, at somepoint arent you gonna want to strike out on your own and make a name for yourself rather than riding coat tails?
(01-01-2013 05:04 PM)One Of The Last Buc Linemen Wrote: [ -> ] (01-01-2013 02:23 PM)studentofthegame Wrote: [ -> ]Lipscomb needs to be with Belmont
pitts right. belmont doesnt think so. besides, if youre lipscomb that have been following in the footsteps and shadows of belmont for who knows how long, at somepoint arent you gonna want to strike out on your own and make a name for yourself rather than riding coat tails?
besides, doesnt lip have a high school on campus with a pretty decent fball stadium? if theyd add fball, that would increase their options rather than bball only,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,hell, if we add fball it would increase our options
Are there any indications whatsoever that Upstate or Lipscomb want to start up football?
You want to know the truth? The truth is that Upstate isn't a good potential fit for the Big South. The truth is Upstate isn't a good fit for Division I.
(01-01-2013 04:48 PM)PittsburghBucs Wrote: [ -> ]The problem with the A-Sun as a Fla/GA conference is that the schools in Florida and Georgia are improving or in markets that would likely make them attractive to other conferences and there aren't that many Florida and Georgia universities that want to make the leap to Division I.
For instance Rollins (suburban Orlando) has often been talked about as a college that could move to Division I and play in the A-Sun. They could likely compete in baseball very quickly.
One problem. Rollins has no interest in moving up to Division I.
There are just tremendous flaws in your arguements. Yes, it's a haul from Cincinnati to Fort Myers, but in today's college landscape where St. Louis is in the Atlantic 10 and San Diego State is in the Big East (at least for now) that's not that big of a deal.
Why does Lipscomb need to be with Belmont? Belmont didn't think so. Look, we have found out that Pitt doesn't have to be with Penn State, that Texas doesn't have to be with A & M, that Nebraska doesn't have to be with Oklahoma, The Citadel doesn't have to be with VMI, etc. Frankly, if Belmont continues their basketball growth in the OVC, and Lipscomb withers and dies, that's not such a bad thing for Belmont.
I would think there is a better chance of schools like Jacksonville and Gulf Coast leaving the A-Sun and certainly KSU. Fort Myers is one of the fastest growing markets in the country and there isn't another team other than Gulf Coast for the community to really call their own. Jacksonville has the Jaguars for now, but that's all they have other than the Dolphins.
KSU will be adding football and has the Atlanta market. It's also a rather large school, and that has an appeal.
I would even think Mercer might be a school a conference such as the CAA or Southern might look at. It's the kind of university that would seem to fit in there, and if Mercer can show the SoCon they are going to have a real football program they might be someone the SoCon wants.
The question is what kind of football program Mercer wants to have, and if Mercer feels loyalty to the A-Sun as the flagship of the conference, etc.
The thing is your arguement is simplistic. It says a Florida school in the A-Sun only wants to be as good as the other Fla/Ga schools currently in the conference can grow to.
And if that's all the conference will/can be, then it will die.
I like debate. Here is what I see as the difference with the pitt/psu and belmont/lipscomb argument; the scale of the monetary and competetive advantages are completely different. Pitt is a basketball school and as the Big East was the premeire basketball conf and has been strong for a long time, that is where they needed to be. They get more recognition for basketball there and had a better chance at the tourney than in the big 10. PSU on the other hand is and will always be football centered. Whent the finally joined a conf in the 90's the Big Ten was much higher in quality other than the Big East thus their affiliations.
Belmont is a basketball school that can stand on its own two feet. You are right, they don't need Lipscomb. You hear their name on television. Lipscomb is nothing. Maybe they would be better off without that relationship.
KSU will be gone. I figured everyone already understood that as a given.
Pitt, why do you think that UNK is the same situation as SDSU? The travel and monetary situation for them is completely different. The Buyout of SDSU getting out of the Big West is more that UNK's whole budget. Two different animals.
The Florida/Ga conf thing has this line of thinking: UNF is a joke athletically, Stetson is the same, We need to go, Mercer is the flagship and would prolly stay til the end, KSU is gone, UNK won't be here that long IMO, Gulf Coast is newer to D1 so they would stay for a while, Jacksonville has watched other Florida schools come and go, why would they leave now, Lipsomb may stay, you have almost convinced me, USCU will add football (every decent size school around them has it) and leave, and that this conference has always except in our case been a transitional conf without football, would be inviting for a school like Georgia S/C Univ, Flagler, Rollins, or UWF.
And yest LBL, they do have a football field, but its not much. Not close to being acceptable for a collegiate game at the D1FCS level.
(01-01-2013 05:47 PM)PittsburghBucs Wrote: [ -> ]Are there any indications whatsoever that Upstate or Lipscomb want to start up football?
You want to know the truth? The truth is that Upstate isn't a good potential fit for the Big South. The truth is Upstate isn't a good fit for Division I.
They were a pretty decent D2 baseball school weren't they? I know that PC and a couple other around them went D1, but were any of their other sports even competetive? The rest of the programs were junk when they got here.
(01-01-2013 06:08 PM)studentofthegame Wrote: [ -> ] (01-01-2013 04:48 PM)PittsburghBucs Wrote: [ -> ]The problem with the A-Sun as a Fla/GA conference is that the schools in Florida and Georgia are improving or in markets that would likely make them attractive to other conferences and there aren't that many Florida and Georgia universities that want to make the leap to Division I.
For instance Rollins (suburban Orlando) has often been talked about as a college that could move to Division I and play in the A-Sun. They could likely compete in baseball very quickly.
One problem. Rollins has no interest in moving up to Division I.
There are just tremendous flaws in your arguements. Yes, it's a haul from Cincinnati to Fort Myers, but in today's college landscape where St. Louis is in the Atlantic 10 and San Diego State is in the Big East (at least for now) that's not that big of a deal.
Why does Lipscomb need to be with Belmont? Belmont didn't think so. Look, we have found out that Pitt doesn't have to be with Penn State, that Texas doesn't have to be with A & M, that Nebraska doesn't have to be with Oklahoma, The Citadel doesn't have to be with VMI, etc. Frankly, if Belmont continues their basketball growth in the OVC, and Lipscomb withers and dies, that's not such a bad thing for Belmont.
I would think there is a better chance of schools like Jacksonville and Gulf Coast leaving the A-Sun and certainly KSU. Fort Myers is one of the fastest growing markets in the country and there isn't another team other than Gulf Coast for the community to really call their own. Jacksonville has the Jaguars for now, but that's all they have other than the Dolphins.
KSU will be adding football and has the Atlanta market. It's also a rather large school, and that has an appeal.
I would even think Mercer might be a school a conference such as the CAA or Southern might look at. It's the kind of university that would seem to fit in there, and if Mercer can show the SoCon they are going to have a real football program they might be someone the SoCon wants.
The question is what kind of football program Mercer wants to have, and if Mercer feels loyalty to the A-Sun as the flagship of the conference, etc.
The thing is your arguement is simplistic. It says a Florida school in the A-Sun only wants to be as good as the other Fla/Ga schools currently in the conference can grow to.
And if that's all the conference will/can be, then it will die.
I like debate. Here is what I see as the difference with the pitt/psu and belmont/lipscomb argument; the scale of the monetary and competetive advantages are completely different. Pitt is a basketball school and as the Big East was the premeire basketball conf and has been strong for a long time, that is where they needed to be. They get more recognition for basketball there and had a better chance at the tourney than in the big 10. PSU on the other hand is and will always be football centered. Whent the finally joined a conf in the 90's the Big Ten was much higher in quality other than the Big East thus their affiliations.
Belmont is a basketball school that can stand on its own two feet. You are right, they don't need Lipscomb. You hear their name on television. Lipscomb is nothing. Maybe they would be better off without that relationship.
KSU will be gone. I figured everyone already understood that as a given.
Pitt, why do you think that UNK is the same situation as SDSU? The travel and monetary situation for them is completely different. The Buyout of SDSU getting out of the Big West is more that UNK's whole budget. Two different animals.
The Florida/Ga conf thing has this line of thinking: UNF is a joke athletically, Stetson is the same, We need to go, Mercer is the flagship and would prolly stay til the end, KSU is gone, UNK won't be here that long IMO, Gulf Coast is newer to D1 so they would stay for a while, Jacksonville has watched other Florida schools come and go, why would they leave now, Lipsomb may stay, you have almost convinced me, USCU will add football (every decent size school around them has it) and leave, and that this conference has always except in our case been a transitional conf without football, would be inviting for a school like Georgia S/C Univ, Flagler, Rollins, or UWF.
And yest LBL, they do have a football field, but its not much. Not close to being acceptable for a collegiate game at the D1FCS level.
Student, Pitt may be a basketball school now, but you'll even get debate on that from the die-hards and it's really only been a development of the past 10 years or so.
I used to be part of Pitt's broadcasting crew. I know. They've won nine national football championships. They actually are a better program, historically, than Penn State, and up until 1960 (Paterno was only 74 years old back then) hosted the Pitt-Penn State game every year because their stadium was vastly superior to what Penn State had.
Pitt-Penn State was once the premier football rivalry in the country. During the late '70s and early '80s it wasn't about local bragging rights, it was about who was going to win the National Championship.
But basically Joe Paterno decided he wanted to break that up to go to the Big 10.
Just like Belmont broke up their rivalry with Lipscomb.
Bottom line is Lipscomb is going to have to fend for themselves. Whether that's staying in the A-Sun or going to another conference, I don't know, but the thought that they are going to join the OVC because Belmont did is flawed.
If Lipscomb was that desirable to the OVC they would have made the move with them. Frankly, I don't think Lipscomb wants to go to the OVC as that would not be beneficial to their baseball program and basketball wise they have a better chance to win the conference and make the NCAAs in a conference without Belmont than with them.
Belmont and Lipscomb may be in the same city, but so is Vanderbilt. So is Tennessee State. So is, for all intents and purposes, MTSU.
End of the day it means very little.